LAWYER IMPRISONED FOR DRUGS RELEASED

A longtime Cape Girardeau lawyer convicted two years ago of drug trafficking was released this week from federal prison after serving less than half of his sentence behind bars.

Edward L. Downs, 75, of 1331 N. Cape Rock Drive was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison in October 1993 by U.S. District Judge Donald Stohr. After serving 26 months of that sentence, he was released Monday from the federal prison in Yankton, S.D.

"Judge Stohr finally came to his good sense," said Downs' attorney, Al Lowes. "That's why he was released. That, and because he's 75 years old now."

Lowes said his client will serve the rest of his sentence on parole. Downs arrived in Cape Girardeau Tuesday afternoon after an 18-hour bus trip, he said.

"That was a hell of a punishment for what he did," Lowes said of the sentence. "He had never been in trouble before, and we're just really pleased to have my good friend back with us."

Downs and Deborah Popp, 34, also of Cape Girardeau, were indicted Feb. 9, 1993, for possession of a kilogram of cocaine. They also were indicted the following month for conspiring to distribute cocaine in nine separate transactions.

Downs pleaded guilty to some of the charges on June 1, 1993, and admitted to trafficking cocaine between Miami and Cape Girardeau.

Popp received the same prison sentence as Downs after her guilty plea, but she hasn't been released from federal custody.

A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said Popp remains incarcerated at a minimum security prison in Pekin, Ill. Her scheduled release date is March 1998.

The spokesman, asking to remain anonymous, said Popp's file was updated three months ago and she has the opportunity to be released Nov. 16.

"It says she got 55 months," the spokesman said. "I don't know why she would get out that early, and I don't have any other information."

Both Larry Ferrell, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the pair, and Stohr were unavailable for comment Thursday.